Vehicle roof comprising a mobile roof element

ABSTRACT

A vehicle roof is provided having a mobile roof element which can be moved by means of a drive carriage which is connected to the roof part and can be movably guided in a guide rail, a drive cable for moving the drive carriage, and a cable connection which connects the drive cable to the drive carriage. The cable connection may have a metal element.

The present invention relates to a vehicle roof according to the genericpart of claim 1.

Such a vehicle roof is known from DE 10 2010 055 456 A1. A movable coverfor closing an opening in a vehicle roof is movably guided by a drivecarriage relative to the vehicle body. A drive cable is provided formoving the drive carriage and with it the cover. A cable connectionconnects the drive cable to the drive carriage and is constructed as aplastic injection molding cover around the drive cable.

Such a known vehicle roof has the disadvantage that in case of anaccident the plastic cable connection can tear off due to the highforces which occur. As a consequence, the cover is separated from thedrive cable. Therefore, dangerously high relative speeds are createdbetween the movable cover and the vehicle body.

The present invention therefore has the problem of creating a vehicleroof with a mobile roof element which overcomes these disadvantages.

This problem is solved by a vehicle roof according to claim 1.

According to the invention the cable connection comprises a metalelement. Such a cable connection can receive considerably greater forcesthan a plastic injection molding cover and therefore increases thesafety during an accident.

Preferred embodiments result from the subclaims.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the cable connectioncomprises a plastic injection molding cover with which the drive cableis injection molded onto a connection section. The metal element isconstructed as a sheet inserter which is embedded at least partially inthe plastic injection molding cover. This has the advantage that theplastic improves the sliding properties of the cable connection. Sincethe sheet inserter considerably increases the strength of the cableconnection over the embodiments known from the prior art, a favorablematerial can be used for the plastic injection molding cover and/or amaterial which is more optimized regarding the sliding properties.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention the metal element iswelded to the drive cable. Such a welding increases the stability of thecable connection even more. The danger that the metal element of thecable connection is separated from the drive cable is distinctly reducedin this manner. The welding can take place by means of punctual weldingpoints of a laser welding seam. The two welded elements (metal elementand drive cable) can be subsequently inserted into a foaming tool if thecable connection is also to receive a plastic injection molding cover.Such a plastic injection molding cover can cover the welding seam. In anembodiment in which the drive cable comprises a cable coil which runs asan outside winding around the drive cable, the metal element can bewelded to the cable coil. Such a cable coil is usually provided when thedrive cable should be moved by a pinion of a drive for the mobile roofelement. A corresponding drive pinion then engages into the cable coiland a rotation of the drive pinion moves the drive cable in a guideconduit. According to the present invention the metal element can bewelded here onto the radially outside points of the outside winding orof the cable coil.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention the metal element canpositively engage into a cable coil arranged on the drive cable in that,for example, the metal element comprises a row of teeth which arearranged in series and along a longitudinal direction of the drive cableand which positively engage into the cable coil of the drive cable. Thisalso significantly improves the connection of the metal element to thedrive cable.

The previously explained, preferred embodiment of the present inventionrelate to an improved connection of the metal element to the drivecable. However, in a mobile roof element which can be in particular acover for closing an opening in a vehicle roof, the entire area of thecable connection which connects the drive cable to the drive carriageshould be considered. A corresponding flow of force through the cableconnection runs from the drive cable via the metal element to the drivecarriage. Therefore, other supplementary or alternative embodiments ofthe present invention are designed to also improve the connection of themetal element to the drive carriage.

Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention the metalelement is welded, riveted, cogged, hooked, clipped or screwed to thedrive carriage. As a consequence, significantly higher forces from theconnection between the drive cable and the drive carriage can bereceived without a tearing off occurring. In the case of a welding or acogging, the same elements can be used which were described furtherabove regarding the connection of the metal elements to the drive cable.The term hooking denotes that appropriate projections of the metalelement engage into openings of the drive carriage or, inversely,projections of the drive carriage engage into corresponding openings ofthe metal element, wherein a direction of the engagement takes placetransversely to a longitudinal extension of the drive cable, that is,transversely to a loading direction in the case of an abrupt braking ofthe vehicle.

To this end the metal element can comprise a continuation which isaligned substantially transversely to a longitudinal axis of the drivecable and to the drive carriage, wherein the metal element is connectedin the area of this continuation to the described fastening methods tothe drive carriage.

Other embodiments of the present invention relate to positiveconnections of the cable connection to the drive carriage. On the onehand, the metal element of the cable connection can enter a positiveconnection to the drive carriage. That means that the metal elemententers the positive connection to the drive carriage in an area which isnot injection-molded with a plastic cover. Alternatively, aninjection-molded section of the metal element can enter the positiveconnection to the drive carriage or as another alternative only theplastic injection-molded cover of the cable connection.

A positive connection of the metal element to the drive carriage can berealized, for example, in that the cable connection comprises a pinelement which connects the metal element to the drive carriage, whereinthe pin element is preferably aligned transversely to a longitudinalaxis of the drive cable. This has the advantage that the pin elementcannot be loosened by the forces of an accident. An opening can beprovided in the metal element and at least one opening in the drivecarriage, wherein the pin element is guided through both openings andtherefore establishes the positive connection between the metal elementand the drive carriage. The opening can be provided on the metal elementin a section in which the metal element is molded over by the plasticinjection molding.

The metal element and also the drive carriage can comprise acontinuation which engages in the first case into an associated openingin the drive carriage and in the second case into an associated openingin the metal element. Here too, the corresponding continuation isaligned transversely to the longitudinal axis of the drive cable. Thenon-positive connection can be provided here in the section of the metalelement which is molded over, or which is free of the plastic injectionmolding cover.

A corresponding non-positive connection of the cable connection to thedrive carriage can also be provided by the plastic injection moldingcover alone, therefore in the areas of the cable connection in which theplastic injection molding cover in the interior is not supported by themetal element in the form of the sheet inserter.

Furthermore, in all embodiments of the present invention the connectionof the metal element to the drive cable can be further reinforced if themetal element has a continuation which is formed on the drive cable andsurrounds it at least partially.

The present invention is explained in detail in an exemplary manner inthe following using the figures.

In the figures:

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention in whicha metal element is welded to a drive cable 16;

FIGS. 3 and 4 show an embodiment of the present invention in which ametallic element is cogged to a drive cable;

FIG. 5 shows a positive connection of the metal element to a drivecarriage;

FIG. 6 shows an alternative, positive connection to FIG. 5;

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a connection of a metal element to a drive carriageby a pin; and

FIGS. 9 and 10 show a connection of a metal element to a drive carriageby a continuation of the metal element.

FIG. 1 shows a drive carriage 10 for guiding and moving a mobile roofelement, which is not shown, such as a cover for a vehicle roof whichcan be opened, wherein the drive carriage 10 is guided in a guidechannel 14 of a guide rail 12. The guide rail 12 is arranged fixed tothe roof in the longitudinal direction of the roof of a vehicle roof. Adrive cable 16 is provided which is also movably guided in the guiderail 12 and with which the drive carriage 10 can be moved. A cableconnection for the non-positive connection of the drive cable 16 to thedrive carriage 10 comprises a metal element 18 and a plastic injectionmolding cover 20 which surrounds the drive cable 16 and the metalelement 18 in the area of this cable connection. It can also be providedhere that the plastic injection molding cover 20 also surrounds thedrive carriage 10 at least partially. In order to increase theconnection of the metal element 18, which is designed here as a sheetinserter in the plastic injection molding cover 20, to the drive cable16, several welding points 24 of a laser welding seam are provided whichconnect the metal element 18 to the drive cable 16. Whereas FIG. 1 showsthe area of the cable connection in a transverse sectional view, thisarea is shown in FIG. 2 in a top view. As can be recognized here, thedrive cable 16 comprises a cable coil 22 and the welding points 24 forconnecting the drive cable 16 to the metal element 18 are arranged inthe area of the cable coil 22. Therefore, the radially outward locatedelevations of the cable coil 22 are connected via the welding points 24to the metal element 18.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a modification of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2. Adrive carriage 10 is also shown here which is connected to a roofmechanism 25 which guides a mobile cover, which is not shown, along thevehicle roof. A drive cable 18 is connected via a cable connection tothe drive carriage 10, wherein the cable connection again comprises ametal element 18 here in the form of a sheet inserter which is embeddedin a plastic injection molding cover. The plastic injection moldingcover 20 also surrounds the adjacent areas of the drive cable 16. As inthe embodiment of the two previous figures, a cable coil 22 is arrangedon the outside of the drive cable 16. Two plug connections 27 connectthe drive carriage 10 to the cable connection in that continuations ofthe drive carriage 10 extend into corresponding openings of the plasticinjection molding cover 20. These receptacles in the cable connectioncan be formed by the plastic injection molding cover 20 alone or also bythe metal element 18 as a supplement in order to increase the strength.

Whereas in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 the connection of the metalelement 18 to the guide cable 14 and the cable coil 22 is realized via awelding connection, in the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4 a cogging ofmetal element 18 with the cable coil 22 of the drive cable 16 isprovided. To this end cogs 26 are provided on the metal element 18 whichare constructed (as regards cog height and cog distance) so that thecogs 26 engage into the cable coil 22. As a result of the engagement ofthe cogs 26 into the cable coil 22, the strength of the cable connectionis significantly improved, in particular for a loading direction alongthe drive cable 16, in comparison to known embodiments in which no metalelement 18 is provided.

Other preferred embodiments of the present invention are explained inthe following using FIG. 5. As in the previous examples, a drivecarriage 10 is connected by a cable connection to a drive cable 16. Thecable connection comprises a metal element 18 here for reinforcement andcomprises a plastic injection molding cover 20 which surrounds the metalelement 18 and adjacent areas of the drive carriage 16. In comparison tothe embodiment of FIG. 3, in addition to two plug connections 27 and 29in which continuations of the drive carriage 10 engage into openings ofthe cable connection and/or their plastic injection molding cover 20, athird connection is provided in the area of a continuation 28 of thedrive carriage 10. This continuation 28 also engages into an opening ofthe cable connection. Therefore, occurring forces are distributed notonly on two but rather three connections between the drive carriage andthe cable connection, which increases the loadability of the system.Furthermore, in the embodiment of FIG. 5 the third connection isarranged elevated by the continuation 28 in comparison to the two plugconnections 27 and 29. Therefore, the two plug connections 27 and 29 arelocated in a plane which is arranged substantially parallel to the roofskin and the third connection is arranged elevated by the continuation28 in comparison to this plane. Therefore, even torques acting on thecable connection can be better removed.

Furthermore, the metal element 18 of the embodiment of FIG. 5 comprisescontinuations 19 which surround at least partially the drive cable 16.The continuations 19 of the metal element 18 are arranged in such amanner here that the drive cable 16 is surrounded pairwise on two sideslike by a clamp. This embodiment of the metal element 18 can be usedwith all variants of the present invention in order to further reinforcethe connection of the metal element 18 to the drive cable 16.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the present invention in which a metallicelement 18 has a projection 21 which engages into a corresponding recess34 of a drive carriage 10 in order to achieve a geometric hooking behindof the metal element 18 in the drive carriage 10. The projection 21 isaligned upward in the built-up state in the vehicle roof and thereforeforms a rectangular, plate-shaped section of the metal element 18 with alongitudinal axis aligned substantially along the longitudinal axis ofthe vehicle. The recess 34 is a geometrically corresponding section of aplate-shaped section of the drive carriage 10 and also alignedvertically and in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Of course,as an alternative the drive carriage 10 can also comprise the projectionand the metal element 18 a corresponding recess. The correspondingelements of the cable connection (projection or recess) can also beformed solely by the plastic injection molding cover 20. This would meanthat the metal element 18 ends already in front of this connection areabetween the cable connection and the drive carriage 10. However, thevariant shown offers an advantage regarding the strength of theconnection.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show another embodiment of the present invention in crosssection (FIG. 7) and in a top view (FIG. 8). Here, a metal element 18 isa cable connection positively connected to a drive carriage 10 by a pin36. The pin 36 is inserted here through corresponding openings 38 and 40in the metal element 18 and in the drive carriage 10 and is fixed in adirection vertically to the vehicle roof and vertically to the directionof travel. As the top view of FIG. 8 shows, several such pins 36 can beprovided in order to reinforce the connection of the metal element 18 tothe drive carriage 10. A plastic injection molding cover can be providedas a supplement which surrounds only the drive cable 16 shown or alsothe area in which pins 36 are arranged.

A similar variant is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, wherein FIG. 9 showsa view from below onto a cable connection and FIG. 10 shows a crosssection through the cable connection. In this embodiment of the presentinvention a metallic element 18 of the cable connection has aprolongation 44 which is guided in an area underneath a drive carriage10. The prolongation 44 is designed like a plate and is aligned in thedirection away from a drive cable 16 located outside inwardly toward thedrive carriage 10. As the cross-sectional view of FIG. 10 shows, theprolongation 44 of the metal element is screwed by a screw coupling 42to the drive carriage 10. This again distinctly reinforces theconnection of the metal element 18 to the drive carriage 10 by anadditional positive connection in the form of the screw coupling 42. Theprolongation 44 can also be welded or riveted to the drive carriage.

In all embodiments the metal element 18 can also positively engage intothe drive cable 16 itself and improve the connection in this manner. Thedrive cable 16 or an element connected to it can comprise to this end anopening such as a slot which receives an associated end of the metalelement 18. This is indicated in FIG. 10 on the end of the metal element18 facing away from the prolongation 44 (the drive cable itself is notshown here).

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   10 drive carriage-   12 guide rail-   14 guide channel-   16 drive cable-   18 metal element-   19 continuation of 18-   20 plastic injection molding cover-   21 projection of 18-   22 cable coil-   24 welding point-   25 cover mechanism-   26 cogs-   27 plug connection-   28 continuation of 10-   29 plug connection-   30 flank-   32 flank-   34 recess-   36 pin-   38 opening in 18-   40 opening in 10-   42 screw coupling-   44 prolongation of 18

1. A vehicle roof comprising: a mobile roof element which is movable bya drive carriage which is connected to the roof element and is movablyguided in a guide rail, and comprising a drive cable for moving thedrive carriage and a cable connection which connects the drive cable tothe drive carriage, wherein the cable connection comprises a metalelement.
 2. The vehicle roof according to claim 1, wherein the cableconnection comprises a plastic injection molding cover with which thedrive cable is molded to a connection section, and that the metalelement is constructed as a sheet inserter which is at least partiallyembedded in the plastic injection molding cover.
 3. The vehicle roofaccording to claim 1, wherein the metal element is positively connectedor welded to the drive cable.
 4. The vehicle roof according to claim 3,wherein a cable coil is arranged on the drive cable and runs as anoutside winding around the drive cable, and that the metal element iswelded to the cable coil.
 5. The vehicle roof according to claim 1,wherein the metal element positively engages in a cable coil arranged onthe drive cable.
 6. The vehicle roof according to claim 5, wherein themetal element comprises a row of cogs which are arranged in a series andalong the longitudinal direction of the drive cable and positivelyengage in the cable coil of the drive cable, wherein the cable coil runsas an outer threading around the drive cable.
 7. The vehicle roofaccording to claim 1, wherein the metal element is welded, riveted,cogged, hooked, clipped or screwed to the drive carriage.
 8. The vehicleroof according to claim 7, wherein the metal element comprises acontinuation or a prolongation which is aligned substantiallytransversely to a longitudinal axis of the drive cable and to the drivecarriage, and that the metal element is welded, riveted, cogged, hooked,clipped or screwed in the area of this continuation to the drivecarriage.
 9. The vehicle roof according to claim 1, wherein the metalelement is positively connected to the drive carriage.
 10. The vehicleroof according to claim 9, wherein the cable connection comprises a pinwith which the metal element is positively connected to the drivecarriage.
 11. The vehicle roof according to claim 10, wherein the pin isaligned transversely to a longitudinal axis of the drive cable and issupported in at least one opening in the metal element and runs throughan opening in the drive carriage.
 12. The vehicle roof according toclaim 9, wherein the metal element or the drive carriage comprises aprojection which is aligned substantially transversely to a longitudinalaxis of the drive cable and which engages in an associated recess in thedrive carriage or in the metal element.
 13. The vehicle roof accordingto claim 2, wherein the plastic injection molding cover is positivelyconnected to the drive carriage.
 14. The vehicle roof according to claim13, wherein the plastic injection molding cover or the drive carriagecomprises a continuation which is aligned substantially transversely toa longitudinal axis of the drive cable and which engages in anassociated opening in the drive carriage or in the plastic injectionmolding cover.
 15. The vehicle roof according to claim 1, wherein themetal element comprises a continuation which surrounds the drive cableat least partially.